Monday, 22 February 2016

News from Syria and the Middle East

RT News - February 21, 2016 (16:00 MSK)

Turkey
has the right to carry out military operations not only in Syria, but
in any other country, which is hosting terror groups that threaten
the Turkish state, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

“Turkey
has every right to conduct operations in Syria and the places where
terror organizations are nested with regards to the struggle against
the threats that Turkey faces,” Erdogan was cited as saying by the
Hurriyet newspaper

Ankara’s
stance has “absolutely nothing to do with the sovereignty rights of
the states that can’t take control of their territorial integrity,”
the president insisted.

“On
the contrary, this has to do with the will Turkey shows to protect
its sovereignty rights,” he aqdded

The
Turkish president’s used an unexpected platform to make his hawkish
remarks. On Saturday, he was visiting an event celebrating the
inclusion of Turkey’s southeastern province of Gaziantep on the
list of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network in the gastronomy
category.

Erdogan
warned that his government will treat “attitudes to prevent our
country’s right [to self-defense] directly as an initiative against
Turkey’s entity – no matter where it comes from.

“No
one can restrict Turkey’s right to self-defense in the face of
terror acts that have targeted Turkey; they cannot prevent [Turkey]
from using it,” he said.

The
Turkish forces have been shelling Kurdish People’s Protection Units
(YPG) forces, which Ankara views as a terrorist organization, as well
as government troops on Syrian territory since mid-February.

The
bombings of YPG targets, the military wing of the Democratic Union
Party (PYD), continue despite Turkey’s ally, the US, considering
the Kurdish fighters an important partner in fighting Islamic State
(IS, Daesh, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

There
were also reports of dozens of Turkish military vehicles crossing
into Kurdish northern Syria, with servicemen digging trenches in the
area.

In
December, Ankara also deployed 150 soldiers backed by artillery and
around 25 tanks to northern Iraq, without consent from the government
in Baghdad.

“Turkey
will use its right to expand its rules of engagement beyond
[responding to] actual attacks against it and to encompass all terror
threats, including PYD and Daesh, in particular,” Erdogan said on
Saturday as cited by the Anadolu news agency.

Twenty-eight
people, mainly Turkish military, were killed and 61 others injured in
a suicide bombing in Ankara on Wednesday.

Despite
the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) militant group claiming
responsibility for the attack, Turkey says the YPG was also involved.

In
an attempt to protect itself, Turkey will treat anyone, who opposes
it as a “terrorist and treat them accordingly,” the president
said.

“I
especially want this to be known this way,” he added.

Erdogan
also slammed countries that criticized Ankara for their incursion
into Iraq and Syria, calling them “disingenuous” due to
“preaching only patience and resoluteness” to Turkey, but acting
in a completely different manner when they are attacked themselves.

"We
have reached a provisional agreement in principle on the terms of a
cessation of hostilities that could begin in the coming days,” John
Kerry said on Sunday, at a news conference in Amman with Jordanian
Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

Kerry
was in contact with Sergei Lavrov today and the two diplomats
reportedly agreed on “the modalities” for a ceasefire - whatever
that means.

Although
this is being reported by both the Western and Russian media as
though it marks some kind of turning point, Russia again reiterated
that any deal won’t include “the terrorists” and Moscow’s
list of “terrorists” in Syria is a bit longer than Washington’s
list. While Lavrov indicated that The Kremlin would refer to the UN
Security Council’s list of terrorist groups, the situation on the
ground is so fluid in Syria that it’s fairly easy to target
whomever you please and claim there were terrorists in the area
because frankly, there are terrorists, militants, and Sunni
extremists virtually everywhere.

Even
Kerry himself admitted the ceasefire would likely have no effect. "I
do not believe that in the next few days, during which time we try to
bring this into effect, there is somehow going to be a tipping point
with respect to what is happening on the ground.... The opposition
has made clear their determination to fight back," he said.

Indeed,
efforts to curtail the fighting are off to a rather inauspicious
start. 46 people were killed in Homs on Sunday after two car bombs
hit the city center's Zahra district. Charred bodies lay smoldering
in the wreckage and more than 100 injured bystanders stumbled through
the streets, shell shocked. “The explosions at a traffic light at
al-Siteen Street in the al-Zahra neighborhood happened within minutes
of each other,” RT reports. “At least one of the two blasts was
triggered by a suicide bomber driving a car.”

Although
no one immediately claimed responsibility, ISIS is the likely
culprit. The group killed 26 people in Homs less than a month ago in
a similar attack.

"Sunday's
attacks also came a day after government advances against Islamic
State," Reuters notes, an apparent reference to the SAA's push
towards Raqqa, Bakr al-Baghdadi's self-styled capital.

Meanwhile,
Bashar al-Assad said Saturday that he's prepared to halt military
operations on the condition that "the terorrists" don't use
a lull in the fighting to their advantage. "The issue relates to
more important factors ... such as preventing terrorists from using
it to improve their positions," he told El Pais. He also said a
ceasefire was impossible unless the Turks and the Saudis stop sending
fighters, money, and guns to Sunni militants. "Other countries,
especially Turkey, are prevented from sending more terrorists and
weapons, or any kind of logistical support."

Yes,
no more "logisitcal support." Like shelling Azaz to keep
the YPG from routing the rebels and consolidating gains in the north.
Asked by El Pais about the possibility that Ankara, Riyadh, Doha may
send ground troops, Assad said only this: "We're going to deal
with them like we deal with the terrorists."

*
* *

In
light of the latest attack in Homs, we thought it an opportune time
to repost the following images which depict just how desolate the
city has become.

John
Kerry points to agreement between US and Russia on day when bombs
take major toll on Homs and Damascus

A
“provisional agreement” on a ceasefire in Syria has been reached
between the US and Russia, the US secretary of state John Kerry said
on Sunday, but serious doubts remain on whether it will come into
force as the country reeled from a series of deadly car bombs in
Syria’s two biggest cities that left more than 120 dead.

Al-Nusra
Front Terrorists Ask the UN for Protection Against Russia

Russian
airstrikes have forced al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist organization
al-Nusra to appeal for help in the United Nations, Germany's Deutsche
Wirtschafts Nachrichten reports

The
Syria-based terror group, DWN
says,
citing a Reuters report,
has asked for a "two-three week truce," and demanded
that all attacks on the terrorist group be stopped.

The
group has tabled the measure in the hopes that the break
in hostilities will give them time to regroup, preventing
their complete destruction, the paper says.

For
their part, the United States and Saudi Arabia have long-supported
the terror group with arms and finances, while politicians have
attempted to put al-Nusra in a more favorable light
by counting them in the ranks of the so-called
'moderate opposition', the newspaper suggests.

And
"while the al-Nusra Front has officially rejected al-Qaeda's
goals, they have done so only in order to participate
in the carve-up of Syria," DWN adds. In the meantime,
"a UN report has accused al-Nusra of crimes
against humanity."

"Russian
airstrikes have put the al-Nusra Front, as well as Daesh,
under considerable pressure, recently surrounding [the former]
in Aleppo. The Syrian Army, which is supported by the
Russians, has been advancing undeterred and does not want to engage
in negotiations with the terrorists."

"The
precarious situation," DWN says, "has forced the terrorist
group to try an original move – to bring about a
ceasefire in the UN. This was reported by Reuters, citing
anonymous sources 'close to the peace negotiations'."

These
sources, the newspaper notes, may have received their information
from the CIA. The intelligence agency's cooperation
with al-Nusra Front has served to annoy both the Pentagon
and the White House, with President Barack Obama previously
referring to this strategy as a failure.

Ultimately,
the newspaper suggests, "the offer is of course just a trap
for the Russians: The militants desire to regroup in order
to prevent their utter destruction…because the Russians and
Syrians are proceeding with the battle for Syria with the
utmost severity."

"The
Russians," DWN notes, "will not agree to the proposal.
Unlike the West, the [Syrian-Russian-Iranian] alliance is resolute
in its fight with Daesh, and are even officially recognized
by the UN. [However,] Russia itself suffered a diplomatic defeat
on Friday: The UN Security Council postponed a decision on a
resolution against a Turkish invasion of Syria."

A potentially lethal radioactive industrial scanner, spirited away from an Iraqi oil facility last November, has been recovered, after thieves failed to put it to use, and decided to dispose of it instead.

The device, used to test pipeline integrity with gamma radiography, contained up to 10 grams of Ir-192, an isotope of Iridium, when it was found next to a petrol station in Zubair, a town in the Basra province, still in its original laptop-sized casing.

"A passer-by found the radioactive device dumped in Zubair and immediately informed security forces which went with a special radiation prevention team and retrieved the device," said Jabbar al-Saidi, the chief of security panel in Basra provincial council.

"After initial checking I can confirm the device is intact 100 percent and there is absolutely no concern of radiation."

The station was about 50 km from the storage facility, belonging to US oil & gas services company, Weatherford, from which it had been taken three months ago.

Early
in the morning, Tiger Forces entered and imposed full control over
the villages of Jubb al-Safa, Kabarah, Rayyan, Al-Halabiyah,
Dakwanah, Tall Istabl, Ain Sabil and Tall Riman. As such, the Syrian
Arab Army has now officially captured a large previously ISIS-held
pocket in eastern Aleppo while simultaneously securing a safe pathway
for government supplies from Aleppo city to Kuweiris Airbase.

According
to an Al-Masdar source, only a few ISIS suicide bombers remained in
the villages; their main aim was to inflict maximum casualties upon
advancing government soldiers. Apparently, hundreds of ISIS fighters
had already managed to retreat towards al-Bab prior to government
forces encircling this area. Nevertheless, dozens of improvised ISIS
traps, mines and bombs have been planted as to harass the Syrian Arab
Army’s rapid advances in eastern ALeppo.

Reportedly,
many are yet to be dismantled – however, Syrian bomb disposal units
are currently engaged with this task. Yesterday, government forces
finally managed to capture the strategic Aleppo Thermal Power Plant
from ISIS fighters. This vital piece of infrastructure could very
well enable a more steady stream of electricity to the people of
Aleppo city in the months to come.

Over
the past month, Syrian government troops have gradually built a
corridor from Aleppo city to Kuweiris Airbase and carried out a
pincer manuever on ISIS fighters in the region. Since launching the
offensive on the 23rd of January, elite Tiger Forces of the Syrian
Arab Army have captured approximately 30 villages from ISIS
militants.

Furthermore,
hundreds of government troops are reportedly in the process of being
redeployed to the eastern Aleppo frontline as the Syrian Arab Army is
likely to attack either Deir Hafer or Al-Bab in the very near future.
If the Islamic State loses these strongholds, they will be forced to
flee towards their capital of ar-Raqqah further
east.

Prime
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the country expects full support
from allies in the case of a possible threat. He also stressed that
such actions, in particular, Ankara expects from the United States.

"We
expect that our allies will stand in our defense, if Turkey is to be
threatened. We will not make this a topic for discussion. From USA we
are waiting — for solidarity with us without any "but's"
or "if's". We don't want to hear any more phrases starting
with "but", — TASS quoted Davutoglu.

From
yesterday

As
you might have noticed, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is
about to lose his mind with the situation in Syria.

To
be sure, the effort to usurp the Bashar al-Assad government wasn’t
exactly going as planned in the first place. Regime change always
takes time, but the conflict in Syria was dragging into its fifth
year by the time the Russians got directly involved and although it
did indeed look as though the SAA was on the verge of defeat, the
future of the rebellion was far from certain.

But
to whatever extent the rebels’ fate was up in the air before
September 30, the cause was dealt a devastating blow when Moscow’s
warplanes began flying sorties from Latakia and while Ankara and
Riyadh were initially willing to sit on the sidelines and see how
things played out, once Russia and Hezbollah encircled Aleppo, it was
do or die time. The supply lines to Turkey were cut and without a
direct intervention by the rebels’ Sunni benefactors, Moscow and
Hassan Nasrallah’s army would ultimately move in on Aleppo proper
and that, as they say, would be that.

The
problem for Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar is optics. That
is, everything
anyone does in Syria has to be justified by an imaginary “war on
terror.”Turkey
can’t say it’s intervening to keep the rebels from being defeated
by the Russians, and similarly, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the US, France
and everyone
else needs to preserve the narrative and pretend as though this all
doesn't boil down to the West and the Sunnis versus the Russians and
the Shiites.

Here’s
what we said earlier this month: somehow, Turkey and Saudi
Arabia need to figure out how to spin an attack on the YPG and an
effort to rescue the opposition at Aleppo as an anti-ISIS operation
even though ISIS doesn’t have a large presence in the area.

Well
it turns out that’s an impossible task and so, Turkey has resorted
to Plan B: a possible false flag bombing and the old “blame the
Kurds” strategy.

The
attack on military personnel in Ankara this week was claimed by The
Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (an offshoot of the PKK) in retaliation for
Turkey's aggressive campaign in Cizre (as documented here),
but Erdogan has taken the opportunity to remind the world that the
PKK and the YPG are largely synonymous. That is, they're both armed
groups of non-state actors and if one is a terrorist organization,
then so is the other.

Erdogan's
anti-Kurd stance is complicated immeasurably by the fact that both
the US and Russia support the YPG out of sheer necessity. The group
has proven especially adept at battling ISIS and has secured most of
the border with Turkey. As we noted way back in August, it was
inevtiable that Washington and Ankara would come to blows over the
YPG. After all, the US only secured access to Incirlik by acquiescing
to Erdogan's crackdown on the PKK, but some of the missions the US
was flying from Turkey's air base were in support of the YPG. The
whole thing was absurd from the very beginning.

Well
now, Turkey is not only set to use the fight against the YPG as an
excuse to intervene in Syria on behalf of the Sunni rebels battling
to beat back the Russian and Iranian advance, but Ankara is also
demanding that the US recognize the YPG as a terrorist group. If
Washington refuses, "measure will be taken."

"If
the Unites States is really Turkey's friend and ally, then they
should recognize the PYD — a Syrian branch of the PKK —
as a terrorist organization. If
a friend acts as an enemy, then measures should be taken, and
they will not be limited to the Incirlik Airbase, Turkey has
significant capabilities,"
Erdogan advisor Seref Malkoc told Bugun newspaper.

So
yeah. Turkey
just threatened the US.
It's notable that Malkoc specifically said actions would go "beyond
Incirlik," because pulling access to the base would be the first
thing any regional observers would expect from Ankara in the event of
a spat with Washington. For Turkey to say that measures will go
beyond that, opens the door for Erdogan to become openly hostile
towards his NATO allies.

"The
only thing we expect from our U.S. ally is to support Turkey with no
ifs or buts,"
PM Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conferenceon Saturday."If
28 Turkish lives have been claimed through a terrorist attack we can
only expect them to say any threat against Turkey is a threat against
them."

In
other words, Turkey is explicitly asking the US to support Ankara's
push to invade Syria and not only that, Erdogan wants Washington to
sanction attacks on the YPG which the US has overtly armed, trained,
and funded. "The disagreement over the YPG risks driving a wedge
between the NATO allies at a critical point in Syria's civil
war," Reuters
wrote on
Saturday. "On Friday, a State Department spokesman told
reporters Washington would continue to support organizations in Syria
that it could count on in the fight against Islamic State - an
apparent reference to the YPG."

Right.
"Washington will continue to support organizations in Syria that
it can count on in the fight against Islamic State." So we
suppose that means the US will support Russia. And Iran. And
Hezbollah. But most certainly not Turkey,
who is the biggest state sponsor of the Islamic State on the face of
the planet.